Punxsutawney Phil predicted just this morning that spring will not come early. However, for the first time since 1990, the US Department of Agriculture has released a revised plant hardiness map. This is a basic tool that landscape designers and gardeners use to develop plant palettes and determine the success rate of a particular species in a given landscape. For New York City, we changed from hardiness zone 6B to 7B . You may be thinking, what does this mean for my garden?

It means that tender perennials which don’t always overwinter are now more likely to do so. It means that aggressive annuals in protected areas are here to stay and tropical plants used outdoors may stay green much longer into the cool season. Pick your plants accordingly!